In a vast valley buried beneath ice and snow, the storm had grown increasingly violent. The accelerating winds blotted out the sunlight, and the sky darkened with every passing moment. Yet within the frozen valley, an unnatural tremor rippled through the land—something that did not belong to nature.
"Guuummm."
The tremor began to crack the frozen rocks and soil. Each impact halted the snowflakes in midair for less than a second, as if time itself had faltered. It was as though a colossal battering ram were striking the earth. Yet there was no living creature in sight. Neither human nor beast could have produced such a sound. If this continued, the rhythmic shocks would shatter the ice layer beneath the valley, grinding it down until it was no larger than drifting snow.
"Guuummm."
…
"Guuummm."
…
In this desolate valley—composed of nothing but ice, stone, and rock—there was nothing visible that could be producing such a sound or disturbance. Though it seemed as if it were occurring out of nowhere, the source actually lay within a hidden subspace embedded deep within the valley.
In this dimension, where everything was nothing but endless white, distinguishing sky from ground would have been impossible were it not for the floor—laid with matte gray marble tiles arranged in circular patterns. At the heart of this infinite whiteness rose a palace, vast enough to seem as though it filled both heaven and earth. It was constructed from pitch-black bricks and resembled a dwelling fit for giants.
The palace was both magnificent and austere. There were no doors, no windows—no openings of any kind through which light could seep. Inside, the colossal structure consisted of expansive halls paved with marble, metal, and various materials in countless shades of black and white. At one end of the largest circular hall at the palace's center stood a throne, crafted from black and white gemstones like the rest of the palace. At the exact center of the hall lay a spherical rock roughly eleven meters in diameter.
Seated upon the throne was an elderly man clad in black-and-white robes, his long beard pure white. He extended one arm forward, moving his index finger up and down. With each motion, a massive hammer of flame—suspended in midair—smashed into the rock at the center of the hall. Once measuring one hundred and forty meters in diameter, the rock had been forged again and again until it shrank to its current size.
"Guuummm."
Each collision between the spherical rock and the hammer sent tremors through both the white dimension and the glacial valley outside simultaneously. Cracks appeared across the ceiling and walls of the hall from the vibrations, only to vanish on their own before the next strike could land.
After the final blow, the old man lowered his finger and clenched his hand into a fist. The flaming hammer shrank instantly, transforming into an ordinary hammer before crashing loudly into a corner of the hall.
The old man—standing nearly two meters tall—rose from his throne and took a single step toward the massive rock standing meters away. That lone step tore through space itself, shaking the hall violently as his figure vanished from where he stood and reappeared directly before the rock at the center of the chamber.
He circled it with heavy steps, examining every centimeter with care. Then, a satisfied expression spread across his face, and he burst into laughter.
"Hahhahahaaa!"
His laughter grew louder and more intense.
"Haaaahhhaahah!"
The sheer force of his laughter caused the palace to quake violently, cracks spreading across the structure. The palace's self-restoration failed to keep up, and fragments of stone fell from the walls, crumbling into dust upon the floor. Noticing this, the old man gradually suppressed his laughter and calmed himself. He extended his hand toward the rock, which appeared almost tiny beside the colossal figure it once had been. When he clenched his fist, the rock shrank to the size of a tennis ball and drifted gently into his palm.
The small stone, crisscrossed with faintly glowing veins, was lifted toward the ceiling. He examined its patterns and channels under a suspended light source that resembled a miniature sun.
Once convinced of his success, he spoke in a tone filled with both joy and sorrow.
"I have worked on this for so long… and at last, I have succeeded. It's a pity that I am too old to witness the results."
He frowned and pondered for a few seconds before muttering to himself.
"I'll have to inform those incompetent fools… but first, I should finish this."
After casting one final glance at the stone in his hand, he looked up toward the ceiling. The palace trembled once more. The black stones overhead shifted like pieces of a puzzle, opening completely to reveal a vast, pure-white sky.
The old man drew his arm back like a baseball pitcher and hurled the small stone upward at an angle. It shot into the sky, rapidly ascending until it vanished from sight.
Though it appeared small, the stone—originally one hundred and forty meters in diameter and two hundred times denser than water—had not lost any of its mass. It still weighed nearly one hundred and forty million tons.
Without showing the slightest sign of strain, the old man continued pulling out similar stones from his pocket, tossing them one by one into the sky as casually as if he were skipping pebbles across the surface of a lake.
<--------------------------->
Another Universe, the Sun Empire
"3484"
"3485"
"3486"
Inside a room of roughly one hundred square meters, various training equipment lay scattered around. In one corner, a child was doing push-ups with heavy weights strapped to his back. He wore short, matte black shorts with a metallic sheen; his torso was bare. His muscles were unusually defined for his age, and he was so overheated that a thin mist rose from his skin despite the summer air. After completing his final repetition, he collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily, and rolled onto his side, pushing the four weights off his back. Each weighed fifty kilograms—two hundred kilograms in total. Deep crimson marks, shaped like the weights themselves, had formed across his back.
A few minutes later, the door opened silently. A man in a black suit, about 1.80 meters tall with black hair, stepped inside. The wave of heat emanating from the room made him pause. His brown eyes slowly scanned the surroundings before settling on the child in the corner. He approached with heavy steps, examined the weights on the floor, and let out a deep sigh. Then, without hesitation, he swung his right leg and delivered a harsh kick to the child's stomach.
Thud!
The child didn't react. His eyes remained closed. After a few seconds of silence, a faint snoring sound could be heard. The child undergoing this intense training was only nine years old. He had snow-white hair and eyelashes. Completely unaware of the world, despite the aching wound on his back, he had fallen into a deep sleep. The man noticed the beads of sweat gathering on his own forehead, sighed once more, and quietly left the room.
An hour later, the child's eyes snapped open. His pupils had no clear shape; instead, darkness spread from their centers in streaks across his eyes. The rest of his eyes were pure white, devoid of any color. He stretched on the floor like a cat for a long while, then suddenly sprang to his feet. He examined his back in a full-length mirror—there was no trace of the wound left.
He grabbed a random white shirt from a hanger, draped it over his shoulders, and walked toward a specific wall. Just as he was about to collide with it, the wall shifted into small metallic fragments, forming a doorway. Passing through, he emerged into a wide, silent garden. He spotted the man in the black suit, now inspecting worn-out training equipment. Surprised, the child called out:
"Uncle Wite! What are you doing here?"
The man lifted his head and fixed his gaze on the child. With the white shirt casually thrown over his black shorts, his appearance was messy yet oddly composed. He had a lean but muscular build. Wite's eyes lingered on the child for a moment before drifting toward the grass.
"Lord X," he said. "You've been alone for nearly two months.
The Emperor sent me to check if there was any problem. If you needed food or books, I would have brought them. But it seems you've put aside your studies… and turned to other pursuits."
**Wite has been watching my back all this time. If I ignore him, my freedom will shrink even further. For now, getting along with him is the safest way to keep my chains hidden.**
As if his worst fear had come true, X's eyes widened in panic. He hurried over to Wite.
"Please, Uncle Wite, don't tell my father! Look—I've already read at least half of the books!"
Two piles of books stood at the edge of the garden. One was neatly stacked, covered in a thin layer of dust, filled with untouched volumes. The other was a chaotic heap—pages bent, covers worn, yellowed from being read over and over before being tossed aside. Each time X finished a book, he threw it onto the ground, and over time this pile had become his temporary bed.
Having known X since infancy, Wite was used to such habits. His gaze lingered on the child's face for a moment. If not for the snow-white hair and those strange eyes, he might have looked like an ordinary—perhaps even cute—child.
"In two days, the King will summon you to the Eastern Palace," Wite said. "There will be a general examination. Your body is still developing; there's no need to push yourself this hard. When the time comes, the potential operation will allow you to reach your true power. For now, focus on learning. Strengthen your mind."
Realizing that Wite wouldn't report him, X let out a sigh of relief. He grabbed a book from the neat pile and lay back down on the messy stack.
This was no ordinary hiding place. It was located atop one of the lush green hills specially reserved for the children of Emperor Alpha, ruler of Earth. At its center stood a modest white house made of an unknown material—its walls cracked, yet structurally sound. Most of those cracks had formed unintentionally during X's intense training. Solar panels covering the roof provided a silent source of energy.
In an era where science and technology had reached unimaginable heights and cities sprawled across the globe, such an isolated estate was one of the rarest luxuries. Only the wealthiest tycoons and most powerful families could own places like this. X was one of the Emperor's many illegitimate children. An ordinary child could neither possess such a place nor be the Emperor's son.
And X was no ordinary child. He was one of the few special beings born through the Empire's most advanced technology. A predator at the pinnacle of life itself—though, since he hadn't fully matured yet, a small predator for now. Once fully developed, he would be able to fight laboratory monsters or entire armies without any equipment. Upon reaching sufficient levels of power and intelligence, depending on the decisions of the Emperor and the High Council, he could become an Imperial Guard, Minister of Defense, Minister of Reconnaissance and Assault, or even an advisor or guardian to the king of another planet.
But such positions held no appeal for X. He hated being controlled. At the moment, he was completely imprisoned and restricted. Though he appeared to live alone in this isolated house, the Imperial artificial intelligence monitored him around the clock. Sensors and devices embedded in his body were directly linked to that AI. If he displayed any inappropriate behavior or showed signs of rebellion, the chips in his brain could neutralize him and erase all his memories. He was forced to devote all his potential and power to serving the Emperor and the high-ranking officials—like a slave.
Fortunately, they couldn't yet read his thoughts. Otherwise, the hatred he harbored toward the Empire would have sealed his fate. Not only his body but also his mind was superior. X never showed his emotions and always acted like a small child. To him, ranks were merely tools—each promotion a strategic step toward loosening the invisible leash around his neck. Even among the scientists who created him, X was one of the most intelligent individuals in the Empire.
The Empire had gone to great lengths to restrain him. Once his body reached its limit, he would need the Empire for the potential operation. Without the serum to activate his suppressed genes, his growth would be capped. He longed to one day break free from the countless restraints placed upon him—and from those who had done this to him. But he would have to do it without anyone noticing. For now, he was no more than a puppet in the King's hands.
Wite called out to X, who was lying atop the pile of books reading.
"I'm leaving now. In a bit, a few vehicles will come to take you to where the examination will be held. You'll rest and prepare there for a few days. I'll head out first."
Wite summoned a SunBot using the device on his wrist. A panel opened on the side of the house, and a circular disk shot out and hovered in the air. The disk moved beside Wite; he jumped onto it and began to rise. Just as it was about to accelerate and depart, everything suddenly started to shake.
The green hills rippled, the sturdy house trembled, even the atoms in the air seemed to vibrate. Wite couldn't maintain his balance in the air and descended to the ground. Clutching his head, he began to scream:
"Aaaahhh! It feels like my entire body is being torn apart!"
Wite was an old-generation enhanced human—but not a perfect version like X. X was also in pain, but he forced himself to endure it. With great effort, he stood and looked around, trying to determine the cause of the disturbance. Had the Emperor decided to eliminate all enhanced beings? No—that was absurd. Or had the Emperor somehow sensed his thoughts?
The hyper-perception within X's genes activated involuntarily. The shape of his eyes changed—the scattered pupils within them gathered together, forming a vertical line in the right eye and a horizontal line in the left. Almost immediately, the Imperial AI detected the anomaly. From inside the house, the familiar deep voice echoed:
"Space-time anomaly detected. Shields activating.
X, thirteenth son of the Emperor, would you like to explain the situation?"
X was in too much pain from the vibrations to respond. Though his body couldn't react, his hyper-perception made everything feel as though it were happening in extreme slow motion.
**How does this cursed AI expect me to answer?
Time is crawling for me because of hyper-perception.
Am I going to endure this pain forever?
Open the shields already.**
Without waiting for his response, the AI activated the shields. An energy field formed around the house, and the shaking became less intense.
Just as X finally managed to steady his breathing and prepare to answer, a sudden flash of light appeared in the sky.
Focusing on it, his enhanced vision revealed a small sphere approaching at an incredible speed. Calculating its trajectory, he realized the target was exactly where they were.
**What kind of madman would dare attack the Empire like this?
I hope the Emperor isn't trying to kill me.
Since I can still move, I should prepare.**
His thoughts raced and decisions were made in less than a hundredth of a second. He tapped the device on his arm twice. The white shirt he was wearing split into countless metallic fragments and transformed into a full-body armor bearing the Imperial emblem on its chest.
All of this happened in just two seconds. Wite hadn't even managed to regain focus yet.
The sphere struck the outer shield surrounding the house—twenty meters in diameter. As if it had collided with nothing at all, it didn't slow down, shattered every energy layer, pierced through Wite's chest five meters in front of X, and landed half a meter before X. He perceived it all in fragments—but reacting was impossible.
When the sphere hit the ground, the shaking stopped abruptly. It landed almost gently, as if nothing had happened. Silence engulfed everything.
Unable to endure any longer, X exited the hyper-perception state and collapsed to the ground. Wite also fell, motionless.
Metallic panels separated from the house's walls, and two humanoid robots emerged. As they moved toward X and the unmoving Wite, sirens blared and the Imperial army appeared on the horizon. Only ten to fifteen seconds had passed since the vibrations began.
If they arrived this fast, they must have stationed a permanent unit nearby.
If I had somehow bypassed the restrictions and left on my own, they would've surrounded me instantly.
It's not surprising—they spent a fortune creating and raising me.
Just after X collapsed, a pitch-black cloud began to spread from the small sphere on the ground. The cold radiating from the darkness made X shiver, every hair on his body standing on end. He wanted to move, but he lacked the strength—and the energy emanating from the object wouldn't allow it. The darkness spread rapidly, engulfing everything around it, including the house. Then, in an instant, the cloud withdrew and vanished from where it had begun.
When the army arrived, there was no one left—except Wite lying on the ground and the two robots administering first aid.
The sphere was gone.
X was gone.
Both had vanished into nothingness.